18 Dec 2003 Questions for Old Europe

Posted at 23:57h in Blog by

Ed Haislmaier recommends an article in the German press defending Bush’s decision to limit bids on Iraq contracts to allies. The piece begins:

Reconstruction in Iraq has begun in earnest, but many European firms are being left out.

The United States government’s decision to hand Iraqi reconstruction contracts to war allies has irked war opponents in “Old Europe.” But they probably would have done the same.

It also says:

When Europeans hand out development aid, they usually require the recipient to do his shopping with them. “Old Europe” also sulked less than a year ago when the “new Europeans” in Warsaw used EU funds to buy U.S. planes.

Why should Washington do things differently in the case of Iraq?



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